Logo courtesy of WWU Athletics
Three Vikings Earn GNAC Weekly Honors
September 10, 2018
KAYLEIGH HARPER NAMED GNAC VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University volleyball junior middle Kayleigh Harper has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for September 3-9, announced Monday by the conference office in Portland, Oregon.
Harper (Oak Harbor, WA) has been named the GNAC Player of the Week each of the last two weeks, claiming defensive honors for Aug. 27-Sept. 2. This is her fifth all-time GNAC Player of the Week award, second as an offensive pick, the fifth-most in program history trailing only six awards each by Samantha Hutchinson, Kayla Erickson, Marlayna Geary and teammate Abby Phelps.
Harper helped lead the Vikings to a 2-0 start in GNAC play with wins over Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin’s, finishing with 22 kills, 12 blocks and an impressive .533 hitting percentage. Averaging 3.14 kills and 1.71 blocks per game last week, her headline performance was a 12-kill, 6-block effort in a 3-1 win over SPU.
In 10 matches this season, Harper leads the GNAC averaging 1.54 blocks per set, is 3rd in hitting percentage (.345), 5th in points (3.95/set) and 11th in kills (3.03/set). She has recorded at least 8 kills in all 10 of WWU’s matches and 5-or-more blocks seven times.
This is the third GNAC Player of the Week award for the Vikings this season, with Harper and Phelps sweeping the awards for Aug. 27-Sept. 2, and the 73rd all-time award dating back to the 2001 season.
The No. 13-nationally ranked Vikings (7-3, 2-0 GNAC) take a 7-match winning streak into play this week, traveling to play Northwest Nazarene (Thursday, 7 pm MT) and Central Washington (Saturday, 7 pm) in conference play.
WWU’S GEORG CHOLEWA NAMED GNAC
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University men’s soccer sophomore midfielder Georg Cholewa has been named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for the period of Sept. 3-9, announced Monday by the conference office in Portland, Oregon.
Cholewa (Leipzig, Germany/Sportgymnasium Chemnitz) scored a goal in each half during WWU’s 2-1 victory at Point Loma last Thursday.
He put WWU up 1-0 in the 15th minute with a well-placed strike on a free kick from 22 yards away. His second goal gave WWU a 2-0 advantage in the 79th minute, again scoring with a free kick from the top of the 18-yard box.
“Georg played fantastic today and is off to a really good start this season,” head coach Greg Brisbon said following the win at Point Loma. “That second goal was massive to give us a cushion, because we knew Point Loma would be strong down the stretch.”
Cholewa has 3 goals and 2 assists through four games for a team-best 8 points, recording a goal or assist in three of four games with a pair of game-winning goals. He is tied for 2nd among GNAC leaders in total points. Cholewa is also tied for 1st among conference goal leaders and 3rd among assist leaders through two weeks of the regular season.
The weekly honor is the first of Cholewa’s career. The sophomore midfielder was an All-GNAC Honorable Mention choice during his freshman campaign.
The 13th-ranked Vikings were 1-1 last week with the win at Point Loma and a 2-0 setback at Azusa Pacific. WWU is 3-1-0 to begin the year, starting the season with three consecutive wins for the best start by the program since the Vikings were 3-0-0 to start the season in 2000.
WWU has played four road games to begin the regular season and returns to Bellingham for its home opener Tuesday night against Hawai’i Hilo (7 pm) before hosting Hawai’i Pacific on Saturday (7 pm).
WWU’S TAYLOR HALLQUIST NAMED GNAC
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Western Washington University senior women’s soccer player Taylor Hallquist has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the period of Sept. 3-9, announced Monday by the conference office in Portland, Oregon.
Hallquist (Vancouver, WA/Columbia River) scored a goal in WWU’s 4-0 victory over Holy Names and assisted on both second-half goals in the Vikings 2-1 come-from-behind victory over No. 7-nationally ranked MSU Denver. From the right back position she played 153 of 180 minutes, with only one goal allowed when she was on the field.
“Taylor has been a catalyst for our team this season and was very productive on both defense and offense in our two games last week,” said head coach Travis Connell. “She is a fiery competitor and has been a great contributor for us.”
In four games this season for the nationally-ranked Vikings (3-1-0), Hallquist leads the team and is tied for 6th in the GNAC with 6 points (2 goals, 2 assists).
This is the second GNAC Player of the Week honor in Hallquist’s four-year career, also winning the award Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2017.
Hallquist has appeared in 68 games during her four years with the Vikings, making 64 starts. She was a Second Team All-GNAC selection as a junior in 2017.
The Vikings continue the non-conference schedule this, traveling to face Texas Woman’s University on Wednesday at 7 pm CT in Denton, Texas. The GNAC schedule opens up this Saturday at 7:30 pm in Portland, Oregon, with a showdown against Concordia in a rematch of last year’s GNAC Championships title game.
Kayleigh Harper has earned GNAC Player of the Week awards in consecutive weeks. PHOTO: WWU Athletics
The sophomore midfielder recorded a brace in a 2-1 win at Point Loma last Thursday. PHOTO: WWU Athletics
Hallquist scored one goal and had two assists to lead Vikings to pair of victories. PHOTO: WWU Athletics
